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West Ham injury crisis could spark January bid for Joao Mario which would please Marko Arnautovic

West Ham United's failure to sufficiently strengthen the heart of the team in the summer is already coming home to roost.

Less than three months into the new season and already injuries are threatening to make it a miserable one for West Ham.

Manuel Pellegrini was handed £100 million to spend in the summer and he signed nine new players.

He has already lost three of them to injury with Carlos Sanchez and Andriy Yarmolenko out for the season and Jack Wilshere also ruled out.

Manuel Lanzini, Winston Reid and Andy Carroll were already sidelined before a ball had been kicked and Pedro Obiang has been added to the list too meaning the Hammers top the Premier League table for injuries.

Pellegrini raised eyebrows in the summer when he allowed Cheikhou Kouyate and Edimilson Fernandes to leave the club with ageing journeyman flop Sanchez and Wilshere coming in.

Central midfield was the area most in need of strengthening after another season flirting with relegation.

But West Ham failed to adequately address that problem.

And is is already coming home to roost with a desperate lack of options for the Chilean as West Ham once again find themselves at the wrong end of the table.